Captain Lawrence St. Vincents Dubbel

Brewed by Captain Lawrence Brewing Company
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Pleasantville, New York USA

Bottle: pours a cloudy burnt orange with a long lasting frothy head, sweet aroma that you expect from a dubbel, taste is burnt caramel and some dark fruits. Not a top of the line dubbel but I wouldn’t mind having this one again.

750 ml bottle shared with padrefan98. Lighter than I had expected from a dubbel. Nice head. Aromas were fruity and bready. Flavor was molasses and some dusty earthy spices. Pretty tasty stuff.

25 oz bottle, via Dickinsonbeer. Pours a slightly hazy amber brown body under a small beige head, fairly light carbonation. The nose is fruity and yeasty with a little bit of an alcohol vapor. Actually fairly light on the aroma. The flavor is fruity and a little husky with some chocolate and cherry skins. Finishes with lots of fluffy belgian yeast and some alcohol. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, a little more watery in texture than I prefer in a Dubbel. Moderate fizzy carbonation. This was pretty decent overall, but it didn’t really do it for me really. I’m not even sure why though.

Not too much on the aroma and the hops have pretty much faded out. Nice deep copper color with a decent sized head. Flavour is outstanding on this with huge amounts of caramelization. So much so that it seems more like an old ale or English barley wine. Some raisen and light burnt toffee notes. Slight green apple character with a certain amount of oxidation present. I loved the huge amount of caramelization, but it is getting on in years.

2006 bottle. Poured deep caramelly-brown with a lovely initial cap of beige head. The aroma picked up lightly sour dark fruit skins and Belgian yeast upfront with toasty aged caramel and nutty notes behind.. just a touch too sour for my liking. The flavor had hefty doses of warm caramel and darker, raiseny fruits at the core, with brown sugar and a bit of molasses integrated in there.. light herbal bitterness graced the edges, but seemed like it receded greatly in the last couple years.. sour plum skins and lighter vinegar show, especially on the back-end.. mighty tasty, and delightfully complex. Medium-bodied, warm, and well-composed on the palate. Great one!

750ml Bottle Bottled: 2006 I’ve been sitting on this bottle for a little over a year now. A quiet pfftt as I pop the top. An aggressive pour brought about a thick ring and island of head swirling around the glass. The head that did form disappeared quickly leaving a thing ring. The body is a somewhat murky reddish-brown. The aroma, although not bad, just doesn’t seem to jive with the style. Caramel malt is present and forms a solid base. We get offline with a big nose of green apple along with some other orchard fruit it’s hard to put my finger on. The caramel is deep and rich. Flavor starts off a little shyly but before you know it caramel and spicy alcohol come along. There seems to be some of those orchard fruits in the flavor as well and they just don’t get along with the caramel sweetness. Things seem to weaken again on the swallow. Jut not a very good example of a dubbel. Alcohol seems to be a little too prominent. The body doesn’t stand up to what a dubbel should be either. Too thin and slightly watery. Could stand a burst of carbonation on the tongue. Not a very drinkable beer. The flavor just isn’t where it should be. One glass is enough for me. A real disappointment from Captain Lawrence. Everything else I’ve sampled from them has been top notch. Unfortunatley, this offering falls far short. 2/3/08

I recently drank my last bottle of the 2nd batch. One reason I am beginning to love American Belgain style brews. Aroma is very nice candi sugar and lots of caramel malts and some spices. Taste has much of what aroma has including some dark fruits like raisins and figs, dates, plums and some baked bread. Nice full body and well balanced.

Bottle thanks to a trade with dmac621, thanks Dave. Captain Lawrence has continued to impress. It has certainly become one of my favorite breweries. This dubbel is so tasty. The carbonation was good. Some caramel and brown sugar. A little yeast. Very good.